ASSIGNMENTS - FILM 4
ASSIGNMENTS - FILM 4
Film 4: Life in America
The 350,000 Danes who immigrated to America from 1850 to 1920 disappeared into the vast country and eventually became Americans. The majority of Danes chose to travel west to a life on the prairie as farmers. But others settled in cities. Wherever they settled, Danish immigrants tended to find each other.
Assignments - film 4
These assignments are about the challenges the immigrants encountered in their attempt to settle in America. What options did they have? Under what conditions would they create their new lives?
These assignments are about the challenges the immigrants encountered in their attempt to settle in America. What options did they have? Under what conditions would they create their new lives?
Assignment 1: A Bit of Denmark in America
In 1868, Christian Jensen, a Danish butcher, settled with his family on a piece of prairie land in the state of Iowa. He was joined by several other Danes over the following years, and the town of Elk Horn gradually developed. Elk Horn became the largest Danish settlement in the United States with a Danish school and a Danish church as a focal point for the town’s Danish culture. To date, Elk Horn is closely linked to Denmark. The Museum of Danish America is located in the town, and the residents carry on various traditions from their Danish ancestry.
1. Visit Elk Horn, Iowa on Google Maps. Use an overview map to see where in the town you can go, and then use Street View to take a walk around town. Find at least five examples of the town’s Danish roots.
2. Go to the edge of town on the east and the west. Describe the landscape. Do you think it is similar to parts of Denmark?
3. Search for Danish names here: www.whitepages.com/name/Jensen/Elk-Horn-IA
There are, for example, several residents with the name “Jensen” in Elk Horn. Could they be descendants of the town’s first inhabitant? Can you figure out which Danish name is shared by the most people? Can you identify examples of Danish names that have become Americanized?
2. Go to the edge of town on the east and the west. Describe the landscape. Do you think it is similar to parts of Denmark?
3. Search for Danish names here: www.whitepages.com/name/Jensen/Elk-Horn-IA
There are, for example, several residents with the name “Jensen” in Elk Horn. Could they be descendants of the town’s first inhabitant? Can you figure out which Danish name is shared by the most people? Can you identify examples of Danish names that have become Americanized?
Assignment 2: The Journey across the Prairie
The first large group of Danes that emigrated was the Mormons. They sailed first to New Orleans, and then began a journey of 1,500 kilometers, on foot and by wagon, through unfamiliar landscapes. It was a hard trek without roads or maps to reach the holy mountain of the Mormons—Zion, in Utah.
17,000 Mormons made this journey, over rivers and through deserts, fighting off attacks from Indians, hunger, and exhaustion. Many had to be buried along the way.
1. In 1856, 36-year-old Jens Nielsen travels toward Zion (Salt Lake City).There are women and children in his group. They do not reach the Rocky Mountains before being struck by winter snowstorms and biting cold.
Jens Nielsen writes in a letter home: “When we reached Laramie, 750 km. from Salt Lake City, the first snowstorm hit and many died. We had to pull the wagon through half a mile of snow. We had to bury 14 dead before we could move on.” One of the dead is Jens Nielsen’s only son.
Jens Nielsen’s letter is a source that tells of something concrete about an event. Which type of source is a letter? Consider the credibility of the source. What factors can affect whether a source is credible or not?
Watch this clip about the Mormons’ journey and the wagon train:
Watch this clip about the Mormons’ journey and the wagon train:
2. Research the history of Salt Lake City. How was the city founded? What is it like today and who are its inhabitants?
3. Research religious persecution in the world today. Where does it occur, and does it still cause people to leave their homes for new countries?
Assignment 3: On Their Own
It is mentioned many places that the Danes traveled together in groups or settled in the same areas together in America. But the Danes were, as opposed to Swedes and Norwegians, often on their own in the new country. They sought farm land and opportunities for work rather than Danish communities. This has had a bearing on the integration of Danes into American society.
1. Read this article, focusing especially on the section “Acculturation and Assimilation”: www.everyculture.com/multi/Bu-Dr/Danish-Americans.html. And here, especially under “Becoming an American”: www.danishmuseum.org/explore/danish-american-culture/immigration
2. Research the difference between “assimilation” and “integration.” Make a list of examples of Danish immigrants' assimilation into American society. Then write examples of integration into American society.
3. How do the concepts of assimilation and integration come into play in current political debates over immigration, in America and in Europe?
Why were the Danes so successful at assimilating into American culture? Make a list of reasons.
2. Research the difference between “assimilation” and “integration.” Make a list of examples of Danish immigrants' assimilation into American society. Then write examples of integration into American society.
3. How do the concepts of assimilation and integration come into play in current political debates over immigration, in America and in Europe?